Men and women have had entire careers – joined the Navy and retired after 30 years – within the time we have been married. At thirty-two years of marriage, we are officially lifers now.
It is my true belief that no one knows who he or she is marrying. We all have our game faces on for at least a year before our true selves begin to emerge. It is then that we come to see whether (a) we married the right person, or (b) we didn’t.
I did, and she just keeps getting better.
We lived in eleven different houses in twenty years. She sacrificed a good career and suffered through countless jobs that were far below her skill set because of those moves.
In fairness, there were some good times too. We met a lot of great friends and visited some beautiful places along the way.
But military life isn’t an easy life – certainly not as easy as the lives enjoyed by many of her friends who never experienced a military marriage.
But she stuck it out because she believed in us.
And so do I.
